Going Rogue
by Ein Kampf kann eine Lebenszeit
Summary: They like their Host's names more than their Given names, enough so to go by them in this new world. Is there something influencing this, now that the first wave is done and the Souls no longer have the need to keep up appearances?
1. Chapter 1

Prologue

It couldn't be considered an early part of the invasion anymore. But it also couldn't be considered the end. It couldn't be anywhere near the end. They were still reproducing, and their children could take souls. On this planet, just like all the other planets, the invasion would never be over. Most of the humans, though, had already become inhabited, but there were still a few who were trying, and trying successfully, to evade the souls. Therefore, the insertions and comings around were still somewhat smooth, and the healer hadn't come to hate his calling. Yet.

So, for this soul, whose former planet he didn't know, he didn't feel bad. This particular human had turned herself in, something unheard of. No human had ever turned themselves in to be taken over by some other being. They liked being human, and wanted to stay that way. But since this human had turned herself in, the seekers had treated her nicely. The only horrifying thing she had had to endure was being sedated knowing that when she woke up she wouldn't be there anymore. She'd be replaced by an alien. Another reason humans never turned themselves in.

As he held the soul in his hands, overtaken by its beauty as always, Sierra, his nurse, alerted him the host was ready. Usually he would prepare the body, but she was new to this planet, and thus, new to healing. She needed the practice, even though insertions were normal among souls.

Having kept his name of Skyward Bound, he couldn't understand why she had opted to keep her host's name. He'd always thought that the names of this planet were ungraceful and, to be perfectly honest, quite ugly. They had no flow, and they rarely had any meaning behind them. Any soul keeping their host's name was just wrong to him, though he would never say that to anyone but his councilor.

Watching the soul attach itself to its new body and surrounding, he wondered what to call her when she woke. He didn't know her previous planet, something that rarely happened here on Earth. There was also the pressure to name her correctly. In their way of living, the name given to a soul upon waking was a sign of respect and welcome to their new world and body. As the nurse finished her procedure, he thought of a name any soul would love, and a name any soul would keep. It was generic, but, though he didn't know where she had been before Earth, he had known she had been to many different planets. He was sure in his choice, and, had he been given it, he would have loved it just as much as he loved Skyward Bound.

"Welcome to Earth, Jumper," he said tenderly as Sierra sealed the incision at the base of the skull. She finished the procedure, something she was getting very good at, and, when she had finished putting the materials back where they belonged, turned to talk to Skyward Bound.

"Do you ever feel bad, when you give a soul a name and they don't keep it, and instead they keep their host's name?" she asked, her voice soft as it always was when she would ask him questions about his, and her soon to be, calling. He did appreciate how she always showed compassion when speaking about anything, but that was the way souls spoke of things.

"I feel, not bad, but more sad. Their names are usually chosen as to what they were before, and it has always been a sign of respect. Now that they are inhabiting pre-existing beings, there are so many things we do not know that could possibly happen, like keeping a name other than what they were given," he said gingerly. He was saddened by their choices to take the host name, but he could not change their mind or decide what they would do, after all. It also scared him, because, as he had said, there were too many things they did not know about what could happen with these resilient hosts.

**More to come, read and review please.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter One

I liked working at the Library. It was a calming job. Nothing but numbers and thoughts. I had come to know many other people, the regulars. There were some teenagers, not friends, who would just sit on the floors next to shelves of books and read one after the other from opening to closing. This only happened every day during the summer, understandably, but during the school year they would come in on Saturday's. They were nice, though their styles had changed drastically since I had come to work here. One started out blond, almost platinum blond, and she had gone through the entire spectrum of the rainbow. Her nails were always painted some color or another, and she wore nothing but short skirts and tank tops with spiked jewelry. Most people would say she was into the alternative side of style, but that didn't change the fact that she was a very nice girl, always willing to help out. I once offered to get her a job here at the Library, but she declined. Said she wanted to focus more on her studies. She wanted to be a Healer.

Another dressed more normal, for this world. Her hair was always black, and she wore nothing but jeans and various T-shirts. She was also very nice, but usually left her books in the wrong place. I didn't blame her, not many people knew the Library's system of putting books in the right place.

I only got to this planet four months ago, but had adjusted very well. The job was soothing, and the people I worked with were very inviting. I did constantly think about how Earth had been before the souls ad taken over, and it was a completely different world. Back in the human days, one couldn't turn the television on without hearing about rape or murder, or someone stealing something from another person. It was quite a terrifying place. But Grace, the human, had been so at ease and so happy in that world. I would never have been able to survive.

All of her memories were so vivid. Going to school, helping friends clean their rooms, going to movies at night with boys. All the things a normal teenager would do with her life. She rarely ever fought with her parents, something her memories told me was a strange occurrence.

When I would be putting books away where they'd belong, I would delve into her memories. It was so strange, because they were so uncivilized. They had wars over things they couldn't control, children in playgrounds had fights because someone stole their toy, and teenagers were into drugs and alcohol and sex. Why, Grace had had a friend who had to undergo an abortion because she knew she wasn't in love with the man and that she wouldn't be able to take care of it. So many things that went wrong, that were horrid and violent in this world and yet all the humans loved it.

I did feel bad about taking this planet, though I didn't do it personally. But my race had interrupted an entire population's way of living. Yes, we had numbers to fill the planet, and our other planets were becoming overpopulated so we needed a new one. We had done it over and over again, and I had been to three different planets myself, but never before had I had such strong memories on those planets like this one gave me. These memories would sometime suck me in because the emotions attached to them were just so strong.

For the first time in my many lives, I had gotten angry at another soul, and they had gotten angry with me in return. We had apologized to each other, obviously, but we had gotten so angry so quickly over something so small and over something that, in the long run, didn't even matter. I had taken a parking spot that had just opened up, and while on my way to the store, he had come up to me and interrupted my path. I accidentally bumped into him, and he went off, calling me so many names Grace's memory provided as bad names to call another person. I was offended, and I felt my ears getting hot, I even felt light headed, and I started yelling back. A nearby seeker came by and broke it up. It was then that we apologized to each other and went our separate ways.

It had come on so suddenly, and I had never felt anything so strong well up inside me so that it burst. Yes, souls felt small annoyances, but we never acted upon them. I was quite scared to learn that I had it in me to use such harsh words. I had soon forgotten about it though, seeing as I was hanging out with others I knew had been on the same planets as me at some point or another.

Her memories also showed me a great sadness. She remembered the day exactly, as did everyone else it seemed, September 11. The year had escaped her, but her mind could still show me the images of a man jumping out of a building because he knew he would have a more painful death if he had stayed where he was. I could still see the two planes crashing into the impossibly large buildings, and how they swayed before catching on fire. The smoke, as floor after floor crashed in upon itself. The people on the ground were running as far away as they could possibly get, but the dust and debris swept them up, just like it swept up everything else in its way. Street after street, building after building. It all happened so fast; I couldn't understand why anyone could cause such mayhem.

Then a war on terrorism had started, and how the current leader could have even thought he could end terrorism was beyond my capability of thinking. Only we had ever ended any kind of dispute successfully. Often, when I would delve into her memories, I would wonder how the humans could have been so daft and shallow.

I know I shouldn't have made a distinction between my host, and myself but I couldn't help it. She had always been so angry, and I was just the opposite. I hated the fact I couldn't call what was hers mine, because that's what it was now. It was mine, and she didn't exist. So why did I constantly make that distinction between her and myself?

"_Well that should be obvious by now, I've only been talking to you since you've gotten here,"_ came my answer.

**Good? Yes? No? Bad? Anything else? Reviews?**


End file.
